Fashion Faux-Pas

I've always been lucky with trousers. Slacks, if you will. Pants, if you’re not from Europe. Whatever you call them, I’ve always been well proportioned in terms of the world's tailored-pants industrial complex.

In fact, for many years I’ve found myself in the sweet spot of having a 34” waist (one of the most common sizes here in North America) along with a 34” inseam. That 1:1 ratio seems to be at the core of the fashion world. The skinnier you are, the shorter you need to be to find pants, and fat people need to be tall.

Oh sure, I went up to a 36” waist at some point, but the fashion industry is nothing if not forgiving (am I right?), and they do make a few allowances away from that 1:1 ratio. Just so long as you maintain even numbered measurements, you’ll be fine.

And that’s where I ran into trouble. I went and mucked with perfection. Dropping 20 lbs with the help of Weight Watchers has left me stuck in the in-between! It’s clear to me, after a weekend spent shopping, that I'm now a solid 33. And you know damned well that I tried on my share of 32’s last weekend, just to see. So there’s no doubt. Nope. I’m stuck at a half size. An odd number.

Thank heavens for the Gap-Banana Republic-Old Navy line of stores! They seem to carry 33’s a-plenty. But it's definitely not a common size for men. I guess what it boils down to is that it will continue to be an issue for me until I can lose a bit more weight. Ideally I will wind up with a 32” waist. 32 is probably even more common than 34, so I would be devilishly happy if I could mange that. And more than putting me into a common trouser size, it would mean that I had dropped 4” from my heaviest days! Quite an achievement.

Not sure how to go about the extra weight loss, though. Weight Watchers works, but I'm just so tired of counting points. Plus I think what I really need to do is more abs work in conjunction with the diet – to get rid of the remaining pot belly. Guess it’s time to get the Swiss ball out of storage.